Kid-friendly Wildlife Rescue' at Great Lakes Science Center looks at what some folks do for animals far and wide

One station in "Wildlife Rescue" at the Great Lakes Science Center allows youngers to strap on a turtle shell and go for a crawl as they learn about man-made turtle crossings.

“Wildlife Rescue” — the latest traveling exhibit at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland — is aimed at the animal lover young and old, but especially the former.

Chock full of colorful stations on a variety of species around the globe and efforts that go into protecting and helping them in one fashion or another, the recently opened exhibition has plenty of easy-to-grasp concepts.

“This is a very wonderful exhibit, especially when you have the kids in here, because it tells the story of what is happening in the world for wildlife rehabilitation,” says Dante Centuori, director of creative productions for GLSC. “It’s more than just treating injured wildlife in the wild. It’s about making sure their habitat’s OK.”

Still, he acknowledges that the stuff that hits home the most is experts in the field working their magic on one of Mother Nature’s creatures.

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“The things that people most relate to are things that impact the wildlife most directly,” he says. “So when they see the exhibit where it shows how a turtle’s shell can be healed, first they’re like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know a turtle can break their shell and it can be fixed.’ And they see how that can be done.”

GLSC also has reached out to and worked with some other Northeast Ohio organizations, including the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center in Cleveland, the Greater Cleveland Aquarium and Lake Metroparks Penitentiary Glen Reservation.

“They bring animals from their collections, and some of them are very involved in wildlife rehabilitation, so they’re sharing that message about what’s happening locally,” Centuori says.

“Wildlife Rescue” is a creation of Science North in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, a co-producer a few years ago with Great Lakes Science Center on the OMNIMAX film “Mysteries of the Great Lakes,” according to Centuori.

“They have a good reputation for being really solid with their science exhibits,” he says.

According to a news release from GLSC, visitors will:

“Meet” the people who dedicate their lives to saving animals

Visit an orangutan orphanage and an elephant sanctuary

Fly an ultralight and follow young whooping cranes

Investigate the effects of an oil spill on a bird’s feathers

Use the techniques of veterinary medicine to diagnose animals

Learn how wildlife crossings save animal lives.

An especially kid-friendly station educated guests on manmade turtle crossings built under roads. Children can strap on a soft turtle shell and crawl through openings in the station just as frogs would hop through the tunnels under the moving cars.
“It’s fun, but it’s also something you don’t think about,” Centuori says. “Unfortunately, (turtles) have a high fatality rate because a lot of times right up until it’s too late (a driver) can’t tell it’s a turtle or a piece of wood or a clump of leaves or whatever, and (a turtle) is not going to jump out of the way.

“In a lot of areas where there’s heavy turtle migration, they build these culverts for turtles to go underneath.”

“Wildlife Rescue” also looks at environmental disasters, such as oil spills. If there is a silver lining to there having been so many spills over the years, Centuori says, it’s that the folks who work to help the animals have been able to improve their practices over time. For instance, he says, they found that some cleaning materials cleaned not only the oil off birds, but also good oil produced by the birds themselves. What works? As we see in one of the stations, Dawn dishwashing soap, for one.

Ultimately, this exhibition may speak to the breadth of knowledge possessed by the folks who work in this field.

“It’s remarkable when you think about it,” Centuori says. “There’s so much you need to know to treat a person, and we’re just one species. And then you go into the vet and they have to know how to treat, say, your five common house pets.

“But then these folks, they come in, and it’s like, who knows? It’s a muskrat. It’s an otter. The next day it’s a turtle. It’s remarkable how much knowledge you have to have to handle this stuff.”

Admission to “Wildlife Rescue” is included with general admission to Great Lakes Science Center, 601 Erieside Ave., Cleveland. For information, visit www.GreatScience.com or call 216-694-2000.

During the run of this exhibition, GLSC will show animal-themed OMNIMAX films, including “Flight of the Butterflies” (through April 27), “Born To Be Wild” (through April 27) and “Island of Lemurs: Madagascar” (April 4 through 27).
The Science Center will also host special events and programs, including Wild Nights Boy Scout Sleepover (Feb. 15), Wildlife Rescue Presidents Day Camp for kids in grades kindergarten through eight (Feb. 17) and Wild Nights Girl Scout Sleepover (Feb. 21). Check GreatScience.com for details.
Guests will also meet live animals, explore ecology, learn about animal behavior and more with these special programs presented by our community partners:
­— Lake Erie Science & Nature Center ( April 5)
— U.S. Coast Guard (March 8 and 29 and April 12 and 26)
— Geauga Humane Society’s Rescue Village (March 1 and April 12)
— Lake Metroparks Penitentiary Glen Reservation (March 15)

About the Author

Mark is a lifelong Northeast Ohioan and an Ohio University grad. Along with loving music, movies and television, he is crazy about sports and tech. Reach the author at mmeszoros@news-herald.com
or follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkMeszoros.